Container elevating apparatus in a door refrigerator

ABSTRACT

Provided is a container mounted on a refrigerator door to be capable of being elevated, where the container can be raised or lowered through a user&#39;s manipulation when mounted on the rear of a door.

THE BACKGROUND

1. The Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator door.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator is a household appliance for storing food atlow temperatures over extended periods.

Specifically, depending on the locations of their refrigerationcompartments and freezer compartments, refrigerators can be categorizedinto top mount refrigerators having the freezer compartment provided atthe top, bottom freezer refrigerators having the freezer compartmentprovided at the bottom, and side by side refrigerators having therefrigeration compartment and freezer compartment arranged to the leftand right of each other.

Also, a plurality of shelves on which food is placed, and box-shapeddrawers open at the top for storing vegetables or fruit may be providedinside a refrigerator. In addition, an ice maker may be installed in thefreezer compartment or refrigeration compartment, or on the rear of adoor. Further, depending on the product, a dispenser for dispensingwater or ice may be provided on the front of a refrigerator door, and ahome bar structure may be provided on a refrigerator door to allowstorage and removal of beverages or containers filled with water withoutopening the refrigerator door.

Additionally, one or more container(s) in which food or vessels arestored may be mounted to the rear of a door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a refrigerator door provided with acontainer capable of elevating according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of acontainer and an elevating apparatus according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a container.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a container stopped and maintained in ahorizontal state according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a container in a lifted state for thepurpose of being raised or lowered according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferredembodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodimentsare described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art topractice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments maybe utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, andchemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, the description may omit certaininformation known to those skilled in the art. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and thescope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

A detailed description will be provided below on a refrigerator door anda container mounted on the refrigerator door to be capable of beingelevated. While the drawings do not illustrate the structure of arefrigerator, a refrigerator configured according to the scope of thepresent invention includes a body defining a refrigeration compartmentand/or a freezer compartment within, a door provided to be capable ofpivoting at the front of the body, and a compressor, condenser,evaporator, and expansion member provided below the rear wall of thebody. Also, the refrigerator door described below may be a refrigerationcompartment door that opens and closes a refrigeration compartment, andmay be a freezer compartment door that opens and closes a freezercompartment.

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a refrigerator door provided with acontainer capable of elevating according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a refrigerator door 10 provided with an elevatingcontainer according to embodiments of the present invention includes anouter cover 11 exposed to the outside, and an inner cover 12 coupled tothe rear surface of the outer cover 11. Also, an insulating member isfilled between the outer cover 11 and the inner cover 12. As shown, thewall projects rearward at the edges of the inner cover 12, and a spaceis defined into the wall. The space defined into the inner cover 12houses food or vessels.

In addition, the space in the wall has a plurality of containers 20mounted therein, and the containers 20 are open at the top so that foodcan be placed in the containers 20. Further, the containers 20, whilemounted to the inner cover 12, are capable of being raised and lowered.For the sake of convenience, of the walls of the inner cover 12, theleft side and the right side portions projecting at the edges will bereferred to as sidewalls.

Also, a handle 201 (in FIG. 3) is formed below the container 20 tofacilitate elevating of the container 20 by a user.

In detail, an elevating apparatus 30 is provided on a side surface ofthe container 20 and a sidewall of the inner cover 12, and the elevatingapparatus 30 enables the container 20 to be moved a predetermineddistance upward and downward. Here, the surface of the container 20 sidesurfaces that is close to the inner cover 12 will be defined as a rearsurface, the opposite portion (that is, the surface exposed to theinside of the refrigerator) will be defined as the front surface, andthe portions connecting the front surface and the rear surface will bedefined as side surfaces.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of acontainer and an elevating apparatus according to embodiments of thepresent invention, and FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of acontainer.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an elevating apparatus 30 is coupled toeither side surface of a container 20 mounted on the rear surface of arefrigerator door.

In detail, a guide block 31 is provided on either side surface of theinner cover 12 to guide movement of the container 20. The guide block 31may be provided as a separate component and mounted to either sidesurface of the inner cover 12, or the guide block 31 may be injectionmolded with the inner cover 12.

Also, a block receiving portion 21 is formed recessed in a portion ofthe side surfaces of the container 20 closer to the rear surface, inorder to receive the guide block 31. Further, a roller member 32 isprovided on the undersurface of the container 20 to smoothly raise orlower the container 20. In detail, the roller member 32 is formed with ashaft 321 that extends across the undersurface of the container 20, anda roller 322 is coupled at either end of the shaft 321. Also, in orderfor the shaft 321 to pass through, the block receiving portion 21defines a shaft hole 23, and a stopper 24 projects below the shaft hole23. The roller 322 not only guides the raising and lowering of thecontainer 20 smoothly, but also functions as a stopper to retain thecontainer 20 in a fixed state at rest. The stopper 24 also retains thecontainer 20 in a fixed state at rest. A vertically flat pressingsurface 241 is formed on the rear surface of the stopper 24.

A guide slot 311 defining an inner surface of the guide block 31, inwhich the roller 322 and the stopper 24 are received, is defined in alengthwise direction of the guide block 31. In detail, the roller 322rises or descends while rolling along the guide slot 311. With thecontainer 20 in a stopped state, the stopper 24 is pressed against theside surface of the guide slot 311. Here, the elevating apparatus 30 maybe defined as including the guide block 31, roller member 32, and astopping device, and the stopping device may be defined to include atleast the stopper 24. A description on the operation of the elevatingapparatus will be provided in further detail below with reference to thediagrams.

A sidewall 22 of the block receiving portion 21 is formed to have aslope of a predetermined angle—that is, an angle θ is formed betweenline P2 traversing the sidewall at the rear surface of the container 20and progressively deviating rearward from vertical line P1 in a downwarddirection. This is to contribute to the elevating operation of thecontainer 20, and in order to raise or lower the container 20, the frontsurface of the container 20 is slightly lifted, after which thecontainer 20 is raised or lowered. Accordingly, when the front of thecontainer 20 is lifted, the sidewall 22 of the block receiving portion21 is pressed against the side surface of the guide block 31.Conversely, when the container 20 is in a vertically still state, thesidewall 22 is separated from the guide block 31.

The shaft hole 23 is formed of a front inner periphery 231 and a rearinner periphery 232, and the front inner periphery 231 and the rearinner periphery 232 are formed in circular shapes so that the shaft 231can be pressed against them. Also, as shown, line L2 connecting theradial center C1 of the curvature of the front inner periphery 231 andthe radial center C2 of the curvature of the rear inner periphery 232 isoffset by a predetermined angle θ from a horizontal line L1. Asdescribed above, this offset is related to the lifting operation of thecontainer 20. That is, with the container 20 in a horizontally stillstate, the shaft 321 is pressed against the front inner periphery 231,and with container 20 in a lifted state to be raised or lowered, theshaft 321 is pressed against the rear inner periphery 232.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a container stopped and maintained in ahorizontal state according to embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the container 20 is maintained in a horizontalstate when still, and the pressing surface 241 of the stopper 24 ispressed against the side surface of the guide slot 311. Also, the shaft321 of the roller member 32 is pressed against the front inner periphery231. Thus, the roller 322 of the roller member 32 is pressed against theside surface of the guide slot 311 to function as a stopper.Furthermore, the roller 322 is pressed against a side surface oppositethe side surface of the guide slot 311 that the pressing surface 241 ispressed against. Thus, a resisting force F is applied respectively tothe pressing surface 241 and the roller 322 to generate pressing force,and through the pressing force, the container 20 is maintained in afixed state.

Here, in order to increase friction between the roller 322 and the guideslot 311, a pad of a rubber material (for example) may be furtherprovided on the roller 322 and/or the guide slot 311. Alternatively,recesses may be formed correspondingly in the roller 322 and the guideslot 311, so that the roller 322 can be maintained in a state engaged tothe guide slot 311. Means for increasing friction between the roller 322and the guide slot 311 according to present embodiments shall not belimited to the examples described above.

Further, with the container 20 in a still state, the guide block 31 isin surface contact with another sidewall opposite the sidewall 22 of theblock receiving portion 21—that is, the sidewall that extendsvertically. Accordingly, the contacting surface functions to preventgravitational descent of the container 20 to a certain degree.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a container in a lifted state for thepurpose of being raised or lowered according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the front of the container 20 is liftedslightly, the guide block 31 contacts both the top and bottom of thesidewall 22 of the block receiving portion 21. In the diagram, beingconfigured to vertically extend from a point separated upward from thebottom of the sidewall, the guide block contacts both the top and bottomof the sidewall 22. Accordingly, during movement of the container 20,contact between the guide block 31 and the guide slot 311 is minimizedto minimize resistance to movement.

When the front of the container 20 is lifted, the pressing surface 241of the stopper 24 is separated from the side surface of the guide slot311, and the shaft 321 of the roller member 32 is pressed against therear inner periphery 232 of the shaft hole 23. Then, the roller 322 ofthe roller member 32 is pressed against the side surface of the guideslot 311 opposite the surface of contact when in a still state. In thisstate, when the container 20 is lifted or lowered, the roller 322 rollsupward or downward along the side surface of the guide slot 311. Thus,the container 20 is raised or lowered by the distance by which theroller 322 travels to the top and bottom of the guide slot 311.

1. A refrigerator comprising: a body having a door, the door having apair of side walls; a pair of guide blocks on the inner surface of thedoor; a guide slot formed in each of the pair of guide blocks, eachguide slot having opposed side surfaces; a basket disposed on the doorbetween the pair of side walls, the basket having a bottom and a pair ofsidewalls, the basket movable between a level position and a tiltedposition; a block receiving portion in each basket side wall, the guideblocks fitting within the block receiving portions; and a stopperprojecting from each block receiving portion, the stopper engaging aguide slot side surface when the basket is in the level position.
 2. Therefrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a roller extending fromeach side of the basket, the roller engaging a guide slot side wall whenthe basket is in the level position.
 3. The refrigerator of claim 2,further comprising: a shaft hole formed in each block receiving portion;and a shaft connecting the rollers, the shaft extending through theshaft holes.
 4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the shaft contactsan edge of the shaft hole when the basket is in the level position. 5.The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the shaft hole has two ends, and anaxis extending through the center of the two ends is at an angle to ahorizontal axis when the basket is in the level position.
 6. Therefrigerator of claim 5, wherein the block receiving portion has a rearsurface, the rear surface extending rearwardly as it extends downwardly.7. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the stopper has a flat rearsurface contacting a side wall of the guide slot.
 8. The refrigerator ofclaim 1, wherein the block receiving portion has a rear surface, therear surface extending rearwardly as it extends downwardly.
 9. Therefrigerator of claim 1, further comprising a handle in the bottom ofthe basket.
 10. A refrigerator comprising: a body having a door, thedoor having a pair of side walls; a guide slot formed in each of thepair of side walls, each guide slot having opposed side surfaces; abasket disposed on the door between the pair of side walls, the baskethaving a bottom and a pair of sidewalls, the basket movable between alevel position and a tilted position; and a stopper projecting from eachbasket sidewall, the stopper engaging a guide slot side surface when thebasket is in the level position.
 11. The refrigerator of claim 10,further comprising: a roller extending from each side of the basket, theroller engaging a guide slot side wall when the basket is in the levelposition.
 12. The refrigerator of claim 11, further comprising: a shafthole formed in each block receiving portion; and a shaft connecting therollers, the shaft extending through the shaft holes.
 13. Therefrigerator of claim 12, wherein the shaft contacts an edge of theshaft hole when the basket is in the level position.
 14. Therefrigerator of claim 12, wherein the shaft hole has two ends, and anaxis extending through the center of the two ends is at an angle to ahorizontal axis when the basket is in the level position.
 15. Therefrigerator of claim 10, wherein the stopper has a flat rear surfacecontacting a side wall of the guide slot.